Why The Sinclair C5 Failed
Transport history hasn`t smiled too
kindly on the Sinclair
C5, the brainchild of Sir Clive
Sinclair. Sinclair was quite an innovator,
in fact he designed calculators, watches
and other electronic gadgetry.
The C5 was launched in 1985. It was
revolutionary in that it was a battery
powered tricycle, and rather than
being steered with a steering wheel,
it had handles on either side of the
driver`s seat. As far as speed went,
it had very little to speak of. But,
the top speed of just 15 mph did ensure
that it could be driven without a
drivers licence as the law in the
UK stood at the time.
Unfortunately, it wasn`t really all
that well equipped for the British
climate! When the weather was cold
it took a lot out of the battery.
The driver was exposed to the weather
(not much fun when it`s cold, raining,
or snowing, all of which the UK sees
its fair share of). And then there
was the all-important question of
safety. The vehicle was low, and there
were concerns about other vehicles
being able to see it. Although there
were some optional extras made available,
the design problems were too flawed
for the Sinclair C5 to be taken seriously.
The price was reasonably attractive
at £399. In fact, once the retailers
who`d stocked it had realized that
the Sinclair wasn`t going to be a
hit, prices dropped dramatically.
I read of one case where a large discount
electrical store had slashed the price
to £140 just to clear space. Over
time the accessories were also drastically
reduced in price, and even if someone
bought all the accessories along with
the initial cut price cost of the
machine, this added up to less than
the `official` list price of just
the C5 on its own.
Although only around 12,000 were
ever sold, there are still some Sinclair
C5 enthusiasts around today who cherish
their machines. C5`s can frequently
be seen on eBay. I`ve recently seen
one being advertised (with 7 bids)
currently at £155.00. A mint condition
one, possibly still boxed, might command
a price of £1,000 and upwards.
At the top end of the spectrum another
one was advertised thus "This is a
world's first! An actual Sinclair
C5 with a real Jet Engine!! It is
powered by a JFS100-13A Jet Turbine
engine of which there are less than
5 in the country! The engine alone
is worth well over £5000 which shows
what an absolute BARGAIN this is!"
The seller reckons it costs over £20,000
in parts and man hours to get it to
the stage it`s at now. But, whether
I`d want to travel at over 100 mph
in a tricycle I`m not too sure.
A jet engine is rather different
to the original battery powered electric
motor fitted as standard. The makers
of the particular motor-Polymotor
of Italy- made washing machine motors.
Unfortunately, the C5 became synonymous
with being driven by a washing machine
motor, which of course was completely
untrue.
So, where did it all go wrong for
the Sinclair C5? Money for development
was never really the issue. It came
down to the design not being suitable
for the requirements of modern roads,
driving conditions, as well as the
weather. It was promoted as a serious
on-road low cost vehicle. It might
have fared better instead if it was
sold as a fun, leisure machine.
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